MLB Insider Firmly Believes Blue Jays In 'Buy Now' Mode Ahead of MLB Trade Deadline
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Two weeks ago, the Toronto Blue Jays were below .500, two games back from the last American League Wild Card spot, and were looking more like sellers ahead of the MLB trade deadline.
Are they turning into buyers before July 31?
The Blue Jays have since won nine of their last twelve games and have control of their destiny as they slid into the final Wild Card spot.
The surge of offensive firepower has them carrying the highest slugging percentage (.460) in baseball through that two-week span and the second-highest wRC+ (128).
While the next month will determine whether they are buyers or sellers, Toronto’s recent hot streak may change GM Ross Atkins’ perspective on how they’ll play the trade deadline.
Rumors have swirled around shortstop Bo Bichette being a valuable chip in the trade market. But is he a better asset to the team’s chances to win now?
Will the Toronto Blue Jays Buy or Sell at the MLB Trade Deadline?
Will Atkins look to offload impending free agents on expiring deals like Bichette, Chris Bassitt, Erik Swanson, and Max Scherzer? Or will he fully commit to a postseason push?
Buster Olney of ESPN appeared on TSN 1050’s First Up on Wednesday and was firmly confident that the Blue Jays would look to acquire talent in the trade market.
“They’re a million miles away from being sellers at this point,” Olney said. “They actually, to me… You can look ahead and say there’s a real path for them to make the playoffs, and they will play this out, and they won’t be sellers before the deadline.”
Olney points out that the investment in first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the push to improve the pitching staff are significant moves that signify their intent to see that playoff path out.
Olney’s belief that the Blue Jays will be buyers is so steadfast that he would have to see their playoff chances go down to about one percent to view them as sellers.
FanGraphs currently has Toronto with a 54 percent chance to make the playoffs, which puts them sixth highest as their chances stand now.
That’s a stark jump from their ninth-highest chances on May 24, which were merely 30.1%.
With Guerrero Jr. on a 14-year, $500 million contract, the Blue Jays have played well enough recently to view this as the time to bolster him with star talent now rather than look to recoup assets in the future.
Maddy Hudak is the deputy editor for Tulane on Sports Illustrated and the radio sideline reporter for their football team. Maddy is an alumnus of Tulane University, and graduated in 2016 with a degree in psychology. She went on to obtain a Master of Legal Studies while working as a research coordinator at the VA Hospital, and in jury consulting. During this time, Maddy began covering the New Orleans Saints with SB Nation, and USA Today. She moved to New Orleans in 2021 to pursue a career in sports and became Tulane's sideline reporter that season. She enters her fourth year with the team now covering the program on Sports Illustrated, and will use insights from features and interviews in the live radio broadcast. You can follow her on X at @MaddyHudak_94, or if you have any questions or comments, she can be reached via email at maddy.hudak1@gmail.com